An assortment of seafood such as scallops, shrimp, clams, whitefish such as cod or pollock, hake and whatever other fish you happen to have available

Stick of butter

Milk or cream

Salt, fresh ground black pepper

Cornstarch

Start by browning the bacon in the stockpot until crispy, then remove to a paper towel and set aside. Add the onion to the stockpot and allow to sweat in the bacon drippings until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for another minute or two. Add the potatoes and water and bring to a simmer for 10 minutes. Add the seafood and cook until the fish flakes easily with a fork. Lower heat and add the milk or cream and butter, chop the reserved bacon and return it to the chowder and heat through. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Then mix cornstarch with some of the chowder broth in a separate bowl and add to chowder until desired consistency is reached.

½ can of beer (Drink the other half immediately so it doesn’t go flat)

black pepper to taste (you won’t need salt, the crackers have that covered)

1 lemon, wedged

Preheat oven to 375.

Melt the single tablespoon of butter in a frying pan and sauté garlic and onions until soft but not browned. Add linguiça and cook over moderate heat for about 5 minutes. Dump into a large mixing bowl. Take the crackers and smash them with your fist, face, a hammer, a small child, a cat, or anything that can be used as a club or blunt home defense weapon. Add the mess to the mixing bowl. Add chives, pepper, and chile powder. Stir in beer, worcestershire, olive oil and melted butter. Mixture should be moist enough to stick together but still a little dry. If too wet, add more crackers. If too dry, add more beer.

Peel and devein shrimp but leave the tail attached. Butterfly cut the shrimp and flatten so that the tail stands up. Mound a spoonful of stuffing onto each flattened shrimp.

I made these a lot last summer and they were always a hit. They’re a great treat at a cook out or picnic and they’re wicked easy to make.

24 large strawberries

1 brick of cream cheese, softened

½ cup powdered sugar

1 shot of Grand Marnier

1 tub of microwaveable chocolate hardshell dip

sprinkles (optional)

Line a large serving platter with wax paper. Cut stems off of strawberries and place them on wax paper point up. With a paring knife, make two intersecting cuts at the point of each berry. (If you looked directly down at the strawberry, the cuts should look like an “X”)

In a mixing bowl, stir together cream cheese, powdered sugar, and booze until well blended. Put the mixture into a pastry bag. Insert the tip of the pastry bag into each “X” cut on each strawberry and squeeze in enough so that each one is overflowing a little.

Once all the strawberries are stuffed, prepare Dolci Frutta as package instructs. With a spoon or small ladle drizzle chocolate onto strawberries trying to cover as much of the stuffing as possible. Add sprinkles, if desired, before chocolate hardens. Serve immediately or refrigerate.

Love bacon? Love scallops? Thought you might. Here’s a little twist on an old favorite. It’s amazing what a little maple syrup can do for a dish that you may have thought was already perfect.

Here’s what you’ll need…

12 sea scallops, halved

1 package bacon (be picky and try to find one without a lot of fat)

¾ cup maple syrup

1 tablespoon dijon mustard

¼ cup apple juice

¼ cup soy sauce

brown sugar

toothpicks

In a mixing bowl, stir together maple syrup, soy sauce, mustard, and apple juice. Cut scallops in half, poke with fork, toss in marinade, cover with plastic wrap, and let soak for about one hour.

Preheat oven to 375. Line a baking sheet with foil. Cut bacon strips in half and arrange on baking sheet far enough apart so they don’t stick together. Cook in oven until some grease has rendered (about 8 minutes). Pat with paper towel to remove excess grease and let the bacon cool. It should only be partially cooked and still pliable. Remove from baking sheet and toss the foil, putting another piece of foil on the baking sheet.

Now it’s time to get messy…

Wrap each scallop with a half slice of bacon and hold together with a toothpick. Arrange on baking sheet. Sprinkle with brown sugar and cook for 7 minutes. Turn scallops over, sprinkle with brown sugar and return to oven for another 7 minutes. Total cook time should be 10-15 minutes, but you’ll know they’re done when the bacon is crisp and the scallops are opaque.

1 Full Rack of loin back pork ribs. (Known in restaurants as baby back ribs.)

Untreated food-grade cedar grilling planks.

A few gallons of water and a container to soak the planks.

1 bottle BBQ sauce

2 tbsp paprika

1 tbsp sea salt

1/2 tbsp ground black pepper

1/2 tbsp garlic powder

1/2 tbsp onion powder

1/2 tbsp dried basil

1 spray bottle with water.

What you do:

1. Soak the planks in water 1-3 hours.

2. Remove the membrane from the bone side of the ribs and rinse ribs with cold water. Pat dry. (Youtube it for instructions)

3. Assemle the dry ingredients together in a shot glass, cover with plastic wrap and shake until well blended.

4. Coat both sides of the ribs liberally with the rub. Cover in plastic wrap and allow to sit for at least 30 minutes.

5. Heat grill to about 400F and place planks *cooking surface side down* on the grill for about 2 minutes.

6. Flip planks and brush on olive oil

7. Reduce grill temperature to about 250F-275F

8. Place ribs bone-side down onto the planks

9. Close cover. Leave it closed! Go drink a beer.

10. After an hour check the planks periodically to ensure no flareups. You want the planks to char and smoke from the bottom and edges. Use a spray bottle to put out any flames.

11. Allow the ribs to smoke for 3-4 hours. No turning or flipping! With about 20 minutes left of cooktime, brush on the BBQ sauce on both sides. The ribs are done when the bones pull away easily from the meat.